


RACHEL ABIDES

by sirconnie



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But not too alternate, Deus Ex Machina, Ending Fix, F/F, basically this is how i wish it ended, if im gonna be real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:17:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirconnie/pseuds/sirconnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She never meant for this to happen. She only wanted to be alive for a little while. The world was never supposed to be thrown into this chaos. She was never supposed to get attached.</p>
            </blockquote>





	RACHEL ABIDES

**Author's Note:**

> I really hated LiS's ending. Here's my gay paranormal version and honestly...I might've let this get away from me a little bit. Sorry for any inconsistencies, I am not a sci-fi expert and this is all very off the cuff. No planning went into this at all (title of my autobiography).

Everything’s shaking. Every sound and feeling is quaking inside of her. The lines and lights that used to point in different directions have become tangled, twisted, misshapen. The worlds that were once parallel have been turned into a screaming cluster.

No, this is wrong. She never meant for this to happen. She only wanted to be alive for a little while. The world was never supposed to be thrown into this chaos. She was never supposed to get attached.

Too late now. She can only try to fix it. She’s flying through the ether like some kind of cosmic torpedo, barely managing to stay within the realms of Oregon and not fling herself into Madagascar or some other way off place again. She’s a speeding mass of light and flux, making it even harder to stay focused - if she still had a body, it’d be quicker to find them, but of course she had to go and lose it. Doesn’t matter, she needs to focus, needs to block out the hordes of information swarming her, blinding her. She needs to hold on to that tiny, faded thread keeping her connected to them.

They still remember her. She can almost feel them, the thread is getting just a little bit stronger, she can sense it, but it’s too loud, the world is too loud. She’s too much and they’re too small, she can’t get a good hold. She needs a bigger thread. She needs them to reach out somehow, to call out to her.

 _[And you’ll make those fuckers pay for what they did to_ ** _Rachel._** ]

There it is.

Chloe’s beautiful voice pulls at her and she holds on tight. The thread is still so thin, but it’s taking her where she needs to go. She flies through the fragile lines keeping reality together and finds them at the lighthouse. Everything's slowed down, she’s going too fast for this world to keep up. All motion is going at a snail’s pace, from the raging ocean to the tornado bearing down on Arcadia Bay. There isn’t much time.

She reaches out to them, struggles to stay whole, but she keeps flying apart. Everything is flying apart. She can just barely see them standing in front of her just past a cloud of information, just an arm’s reach away - if only she still had arms.

 _[Chloe, I’m so, so sorry--]_ That was Max, her soft little voice so faint and familiar. Sorry for what?

 _[I--I don’t want to do this.]_ Do what? What are they doing? She can’t hear any more, but she thinks she sees them hug, Chloe having to stoop to gather the smaller girl in her arms. It yanks at her, makes her wish and want. She can see something in Max’s hands behind Chloe’s back as she fades in and out, lost in the clouds of noise and space.

A photograph. **The** photograph.

No.

_[I know, Max. But we have to. We have to save everybody, okay?]_

No. No. **No.**

_[Being together this week...it was the best farewell gift I could’ve hoped for.]_

She can’t let this happen. She can’t, she won’t, she has to stop them. She can’t let them destroy themselves to save the world. They're starting to blur, she's losing sight of them. She needs to grab hold of them, she needs to _fix it--_

_[You’re my hero, Max.]_

Too much noise, too many clouds, not enough of her. They're getting farther away, she can’t get a grip on either of them.

The time power. She senses it still inside of Max, that little piece that fell into her hand in that pivotal moment in a Blackwell restroom. She tries to reach into her and use it to pull herself together, but Max is going too fast. She’s going faster than anything else in this plane, her mind and heart going supersonic. There’s nothing to hold on to, nothing that’ll hold still long enough for her to catch. There’s no way to grab onto Chloe either, not unless she says her name again, and that doesn’t seem likely. She reaching helplessly, unable to grasp Max’s raucous mind, when she sees Max’s blurry shape get close to Chloe’s.

Silence. All the commotion in Max’s head stops. She becomes easier to see, solidifying into an almost clear image. So does Chloe, her solidifying face framed by Max’s hands and her lips pressed against hers. The clouds around them thin and their kiss is the only thing visible in the storm, a halo of silence.

 **Now.** She reaches for the shard of power in Max and makes contact. She can feel herself coming together - fingers, arms, neck, head. She recreates her plaid shirt and her legs form in her jeans just as the girls pull apart and the clouds come back, but she’s so close. She can’t be stopped now.

“And Max Caulfield?” Chloe’s voice is clearer now, sad but perfect and right next to her as she backs away from Max. “Don’t you forget about me...”

“Never.” Max turns, shoulders drooped low and the photo still in her hands. She can feel her start to go back.

Rachel lands her now corporeal hand on Max’s shoulder and everything stops. The rain stops in the air and the tornado stands still in the distance. Max jumps and whirls to look at her, knocking into the raindrops floating stationary around them. Her eyes go wide and her tiny mouth drops open in shock.

" _Rachel?!”_ Chloe cries from behind her. Rachel turns to see her just as bewildered as Max, all wide-eyed and pale. Humans are so alike sometimes. How cute.

 **“Hi, Chloe--”** Both the girls wince and cover their ears. **“Oh, sorry, hang on.”** She clears her throat; she hadn’t realized she still sounded like that. She supposes she hasn’t come back to normal completely. Almost...there it is. “That’s better. Hi, Chloe. Hi, Max.”

"H-how--how are you--” Max can barely string a sentence together while Chloe is still gaping at her. Rachel smiles at them in an attempt to calm them down, but it only makes Chloe’s face crumple up and make Max suck in a breath like she’s choking. Okay, not helping.

“I’ll answer all your questions in a minute. For now, just try to breathe. Take it all in,” Rachel says, folding her arms loosely and smiling gently at them both. Max does as she’s told, breathing deep, if slightly shaken, breaths while Chloe stares at Rachel unblinkingly. Rachel waits, allowing them time to process. Eventually, Chloe moves to stand next to Max, laying a hand on one of her heaving shoulder and still staring at Rachel with wet eyes.

“Is it...is it really you?” she asks, voice hushed yet thunderous in the heavy silence all around them. Rachel drops her arms and looks at her, really looks. She feels that same tightness in her chest at the sight of that beat-up leather jacket and the split-ends of her dyed hair. She’s so beautiful and so sad and Rachel is in love with her all over again.

“Yeah, Chlo, it’s me,” she breathes. Chloe’s face breaks open and she rushes forward, throwing her arms around Rachel’s shoulders. She buries her face into Rachel’s hair, her whole frame shaking as her fingers grip at her shirt as desperately as Rachel had gripped at her voice. Rachel hugs her back automatically, arms coming up to wrap around her waist and rubbing her back. She hears Chloe crying and has to close her eyes tight to keep from joining her before she remembers that she can't. Not in this form.

Rachel still remembers Chloe’s sobs when she'd found her body. It had been the only thing that pulled her from the nothingness and back into reality. She’d been floating, listless and bitter at the fact that she’d let herself get caught up in humanity. Chloe’s pain was a shining beacon in the haze, guiding her home.

Rachel opens her eyes and sees Max just over Chloe’s shoulder, her own tears almost imperceptibly falling down her drawn, rain-soaked face. She makes eye-contact with her before Max gives her a trembling, barely-there smile, even as she quietly weeps, and it’s breaking Rachel’s newly-formed heart.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, carefully pulling away from the hug. Chloe draws back reluctantly and sniffs, her face tear-streaked. Rachel wipes them away with her thumbs, because she can’t help it. “I messed up everything and I hurt you. Both of you.”

Max moves to stand next to Chloe, wiping at her own tears with the sleeve of her sweater. Rachel turns her attention to her, taking in the wet hair and disheveled clothes clinging to her tiny body. She can’t believe this is where her power ended up. This little girl who’s gotten so big in only five days. Who’s lived ages in less than a week.

“I can explain everything,” Rachel says, looking at Max and Chloe in turn. “I’m gonna tell you everything.”

Chloe and Max exchange glances, seeming to have an entire conversation with just their faces. Rachel can’t help but smile at the sight, knowing what it took to get them to be this close again. Soon they look at her again, both their expressions steady. She takes that as permission to begin and takes a breath - it feels so good to breathe again.

"Alright, so...I’m not Rachel Amber. I mean, I am,” she hastily adds when the girls blanch. “I am, I promise I’m the Rachel you knew, Chloe. My name _is_ Rachel Amber, but I’m not really a teenage girl who just showed up in Arcadia Bay one day.”

“Then what are you?” Chloe asks, voice soft.

Rachel finds herself rubbing the back of her neck and shifting her stance, fidgeting the way she’d learned to do once she’d realized her standing completely still as a human was considered unsettling. Old habits die hard. ”It’s hard to explain to mortals."

Max’s eyes widen. “Are you saying you’re not mortal?” Rachel smiles with a small shrug and the girls look at each other again, both looking perplexed.

"Obviously I’m not making things much clearer,” Rachel says, rolling her eyes. “But what I am isn’t what’s important here. It’s what I became.”

The girls face her again and she goes on, “I’d been floating around, sort of nothing and everything, just watching the world grow and change. I’ve seen a lot of things in my long life, but none of it compares to your kind. Your humanity. You’re all so different. Each one of you. But so similar, too, it makes no sense!” Rachel lets out a short laugh. “But that’s you. Nonsensical. Anyway, I’d spent so long just watching, I wanted to try and be one of you for a minute.”

"You wanted to be _human?_ ” Chloe asks, incredulous. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Rachel laughs again. “I know, it’s so fucked up. There I was, infinite cosmic power at my disposal and I wanted to be a fleshy, breakable little human. What was I thinking, right? But the reason doesn’t matter. Point is, I wanted to be human. So I did it.”

"Just like that?”

"Just like that. I made a body and started my life. I was ‘Rachel Amber’, teenage hellion who wanted to be a model.” She smiles at the memory of all the reckless fun she’d had in those first few months. “It was a blast and I always wanted more. I wanted to experience everything. Love, loss, excitement, anger. Everything humanity has to offer. But I made a mistake.”

She turns her gaze to Chloe. “I loved too much.” Chloe’s dark eyebrows go up and Rachel nods. ”Drugs, sex, and every thrill in the world and the one thing that fucks me over is a blue-haired weirdo who was too cute to leave behind.” Rachel sighs, shaking her head in disappointment. “I have the worst taste, honestly.”

"Oh, fuck you,” Chloe chokes out, smiling with shaking lips.

Rachel grins back and replies in kind, “You wish.” Chloe snorts and looks away, laughing even as she wipes at her eyes. Max smiles fondly and even if it isn’t directed at Rachel, it makes her feel warm. No wonder her girl fell for this one.

"So, that was when it got complicated,” Rachel continues. “I got attached to Chloe and I never wanted to leave. I knew I couldn’t stick around forever, but I didn’t care. Plus, I was almost always hopped up on some drug or another, so that didn’t help.”

"Drugs affected you that much?” Max asks.

"Affected my human body, yeah. I made it myself, so it wasn’t perfect. I wanted the full experience, so I didn’t really keep my usual powers. In retrospect, that was a huge mistake.”

"Because you died,” Max says quietly. Rachel nods. “Could you have prevented it?”

"If I was in the right mind, sure.” Rachel huffs bitterly. “But Jefferson and his little protégé made it pretty hard with their fucking syringes and--”

"Max?” Chloe has an arm around a doubled-over Max who sways on her feet, her body trembling and her arms wrapped tightly around herself. After a moment, Max starts to straighten and she raises a hand towards Chloe in what looks like reassurance. Her face is ashen.

"Shit. I’m sorry, Max, I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Rachel should’ve known better than to mention the dark room. The trauma doesn’t affect her the way it does Max. She isn’t really human anymore, just a mostly-solid projection that she’s using to talk to the girls while the rest of her holds time still. Max shakes her head and takes several deep breaths.

"I’m fine,” she rasps out, still looking pained. “It’s okay. Keep going.” Rachel looks to Chloe, who nods, her face stony but her hands gentle on Max’s shoulders.

"Alright. So I died. That sucked. What sucked more was that when it happened, my powers were too weak to make me a new body, so I had to improvise.” She glances down at the photo still in Max’s hands. “I could only manage something small, at least until I got myself together. Something really small.”

Chloe follows her gaze and gasps. “You were the butterfly?” Max looks down at the photo and then back up at her with a look of wonder.

Rachel grins. “Yup, that was me. Kind of. I couldn’t tell you why I showed up in the Blackwell bathroom, but it felt like I had to be there. Then again, I had the brain of a bug, so I wouldn’t bet on there being any real purpose.

"Then Nathan came in.” Rachel sighs again and looks at the ground. “Nathan. There’s so much pain in that kid. I wish I’d done more. Anyway, he came in, then Chloe came in, and then that’s when it all started.”

"When I got my powers,” Max says.

"When I gave you _my_ powers. I recognized Chloe’s voice and a part of me came back long enough to give you my time power.”

"Why didn’t _you_ just use the power?”

"I was a butterfly,” Rachel says with a snort. “All I could do was flap around and avoid hitting windows. In all seriousness, though, I wasn’t strong enough to do it myself. I could only give it away, hoping you’d use it to help Chloe.”

"And you did.” Rachel smiles down at Max. “You saved her and you kept saving her. You did more than I could ever ask for. Thank you, Max.”

Max blinks and looks down, looking embarrassed. It’s only when Chloe bumps her shoulder with her own that Max smiles.

"You also got a little wild back there, didn’t you?” Rachel says, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at the girl. “Rewinding all over the place and using it to impress skaters and certain science geeks. Yeah, I know all about it.” Max goes beet red and doesn’t meet her eye. “Eh, it’s alright. Can’t say I never had any fun with my own powers. I never used it to kiss Chloe, like, fifteen times, though. To each their own, I guess.”

"Wait, what?” Chloe looks between her and Max, who’s gotten even redder somehow and is hiding her face in her hands.

"So, I gave Max my powers and she used it a _little_ bit irresponsibly, we all know that,” Rachel goes on. “I eventually got rid of the butterfly body and turned back into a sort of...cosmic...entity? I’m not sure how I’d describe it. I was still weak, though, and I had to leave this world to get myself together, which I did, except…”

"I still had your power,” Max finishes, recovering.

"Exactly. So, naturally, I had to go and get it back from you. Except I couldn’t because _somebody_ kept getting killed.” Rachel gives Chloe a pointed glance. “I’d say it was near-impossible for someone to accidentally shoot themselves in the chest if I didn’t see it for myself.”

" _What-- _”__

"Max just kept moving around and around,” Rachel cuts her off smoothly. “The more you used my power, the harder you were to track down. I wasn’t at a hundred percent and I couldn’t get a hold of you, especially with your shenanigans tearing apart the fabric of time.”

"But now you’re here,” Max says.

"It took a lot, but, yeah. I’m here. Sorry I couldn’t stop what was happening in your head. That must’ve been terrifying.”

"What the fuck _was_ that?” Max asks lowly, her hand going to the side of her head and wincing like it’s bruised. “It felt so real and so-- _why_ did that happen?”

"You’re human,” Rachel says gently. “You’ve been overworking yourself and overusing a cosmic ability. Your body couldn’t keep up with the strain. I tried to help, but all I could do was keep you from going too far.”

"Why didn’t you take the powers back when all that was happening?”

"Are you kidding? My connection to you was the only thing keeping your mind from shattering. If I took it back, you’d have been gone for good.” Max shivers and Chloe pulls her in closer. “You made it through the other side, though. That’s what’s important.”

"So, how’d you get here?” Chloe asks. “Max was moving too fast, right? What changed?”

"Huh. I’m not really sure. Could’ve been anything.” Or, it could’ve been that the very act of kissing Chloe, even if it was a kiss goodbye, was enough to take every bit of anxiety and fear buzzing inside of Max and render it silent. Rachel would bet it’s that, but there’s no point in embarrassing the girl any further. Her little head might pop.

"So, what now?” Max asks, looking wary and near tears again. “The town’s gonna be torn apart unless I go back and--and let Chloe die. What should I do?”

" _You_ don’t have to do anything,” Rachel says firmly. She goes to stand directly in front of her and places her hands on her shoulders. “You’ve been through enough. You’re done.” Max only blinks up at her, her absurdly big eyes confused.

"What do you mean?”

"I mean you’re not gonna clean up my mess anymore. Or make any of your own.” Rachel smirks. “You made a big ol’ commotion in the space-time continuum, kiddo. But, don't worry. I got this one.”

She lets Max go and addresses them both now, “I’ve taken back my powers--” she raises her hand and a glowing spiral appears, winding around her palm as the girls stare in awe-- “and I’m gonna fix this. I’m gonna fix everything.”

"How?”

"I’ll do a reset. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’m gonna cut this cycle off at the source.”

"Cycle?” Chloe says, furrowing her brow. “So, I was right. This’ll keep happening unless I die.”

"Yeah, letting you die in that bathroom _would_ fix the tornado problem.” Rachel nods, dropping her hand. “But it’s not the only way, and that's not the only problem.”

"We can’t let you do it alone,” Max says, her voice sharp for the first time in the entire conversation. Chloe nods fiercely and the two of them stand in front of her, determined. Rachel resists the urge to laugh at how ridiculous they are, the stubborn, brave teenagers.

"You two can’t come with me, that would defeat the purpose,” she says instead. “And you don’t have my power anymore, Max. You kind of don’t have a choice.” They falter, Chloe’s fists loosening at her sides and the fire in Max’s eyes dimming and she looks away.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?” Chloe snaps, frustrated. How Rachel has missed that temper.

"Live,” she says easily. “Live, because you deserve to. Both of you.” The girls' hands find each other, fingers linking together and holding on tight like paper chains. Like string.

"What about you?” Chloe asks, turning to Rachel and boring into her with those intense eyes of hers. “Rachel, what’s gonna happen to you?”

Rachel smiles sadly. “I’m sorry, but to make this work, I have to make it so we never met.”

Chloe starts, “Rachel, no--”

"It's for the best, Chloe.”

"You can’t! You can’t go away again, not when I finally got you back,” Chloe takes her face in her hands, her voice shaking and making Rachel powerless. “Please, Rach, don’t leave. I need you.”

"No, you don’t, sweetheart,” Rachel breathes, placing her hands over Chloe’s. “Not anymore. You have Max.” Chloe doesn’t say anything, only stares at her with her eyes welling up quickly. “You’ll always have Max. I’ll make sure of it.”

Chloe’s eyes slide shut just as the tears fall. She leans forward until their foreheads touch, their noses barely brushing and her breath warm on Rachel’s mouth. Rachel tilts her head slightly and their lips brush, not really kissing, but it’s enough. She holds still and memorizes the softness of Chloe’s lips and the sound of her heartbeat for the last time.

Soon, she pulls away, slowly lowering Chloe’s hands and squeezing them briefly before letting them go. Chloe still has her eyes closed and her head bowed, her face not visible, but her shoulders heaving with shaking breaths. Rachel glances at Max, but she’s already going to Chloe’s side, taking her hand wordlessly. She doesn’t complain even if Rachel can see Chloe’s very nearly crushing hers.

"It’s all gonna be okay,” Rachel murmurs, smiling even as her chest aches. “I’m gonna take care of everything.” Max nods and Chloe sniffs noisily. Rachel doesn’t want to leave.

But she has to. She has to make this right. She backs away from them, the leaves crunching under her boots and her back hitting stagnant rain as she goes. Max keeps looking at her, even Chloe’s raised her weepy face to watch her leave. It hurts to look at their young faces and know what her choices have done to them. Her selfish desire to be human took two good people and hurt them, scarred them. And for what?

“I think I was lonely,” she says, raising her voice slightly to be heard. “I’d been alone up there for so long, and it felt so good to be alive. I loved being human. I loved _you_ , Chloe.” She can see Chloe bite her lower lip and shake with barely held-back tears. Max wraps an arm around her waist and holds her close. Good. That’s a start.

"Reach out more, Max!” Max jumps as Rachel calls out to her. “Don’t get so stuck in your own head you forget you have people to talk to! Who love you! Hold on to them!”

"Uh, okay! I will!” Max yells back, or at least the Max Caulfield version of yelling, which is just a couple of notches above her inside voice. It'll do.

"Good! And, Chloe, you matter! You don’t need to die in a bathroom to mean something! You’re important to people!” Rachel sees Chloe wipe at her eyes furiously.

"Quit yelling, bitch, you’re ten feet away!” she barks, glaring with red-rimmed eyes.

Rachel grins. “I gotta yell, or else you won’t listen, you big blue fuck!” Chloe laughs and it gets Max started, the both of them giggling until they cough. Rachel’s heart swells and if she could cry in this form, she’d be bawling. She stops backing away and just looks at them for a moment, letting them burn into her memory.

“Life is painful,” she says in her normal voice when they’ve stopped. They look at her with tears of mirth streaking their faces and smiles still gracing them. “It’s so, so, painful and hard and sometimes horrific. I’ve existed for so long, but I’d never gone through the things I went through as a human.”

"But I don’t regret it,” she goes on, smiling softly at the incredible girls standing in front of her. “You’re all so strange and beautiful and I got to be around you. It was the best choice I’ve ever made.”

Everything vanishes. Time is wrapped around her in a spiral. Worlds and lives all at her command. At a whim, she can erase herself from Arcadia Bay and make everything right.

Chloe and Max will be happy. And she will be alone again.

She cuts the string.

 

* * *

 

"I still can’t believe we both got in!”

"Of course _I_ got in, I’m _made_ of raw talent,” Chloe says idly while she lounges on the desk chair and fiddles with Max’s guitar. “You, though, that was a shocker. I guess Blackwell has a demand for retro non-selfies with a hipster dressing.”

"Oh, shut up,” Max laughs before she tosses a pillow at Chloe’s face. She misses spectacularly, but her point is made. She gets back to folding clothes and placing them carefully into her suitcase as she talks over her shoulder, “You’re supposed to be helping me pack, by the way, not sitting there having your way with my son.”

"Have I told you how creepy is it that you refer to your guitar as your son?” Chloe asks as she strums. “Because it’s really off-putting. Seriously.”

"I’ll take it under advisement. Now get over here and help before I tell my mom who really broke her favorite vase.” Max grins when Chloe springs to her feet and gets to work. “Seriously, though, Chloe, I’m so psyched. Aren’t you psyched?”

"Psyched to go back home?” Chloe grimaces. “Oh, yeah, totally. Can’t wait to leave boring Seattle and get back to _Oregon_.”

"Hilarious. We’ll be in the same school for the first time in _five years_.” Max shakes Chloe by the arm. “And we’re gonna live together! In your house! Sleepovers every night, Chloe, tell me that’s not awesome.”

"Alright, it’s pretty awesome,” Chloe concedes with a laugh. “We can carpool and make fun of the Blackwell nerds--”

" _You_ , maybe. I’m much more civilized.”

"Right, you’d rather stare at the skater boys like you do every time you’re at Arcadia Bay. Oh, look who’s blushing!” Chloe laughs as Max turns away, definitely turning pink under her freckles. “Y’know, a less evolved woman would be jealous. Good thing I know better.”

"Pff, you dork,” Max knocks her head against Chloe’s shoulder softly. “I’m bummed out about losing Mark Jefferson, though. I was really looking forward to having him as a teacher.”

"Yeah, that sucks. Didn’t he OD or something?”

"That’s what the news said. It's so weird, he didn’t have a history with drugs or anything.” Max sighs. “Oh, well. I’m sure there’s still some good stuff at Blackwell.”

"Love that positivity. Hate that we’re not even halfway done.” Chloe grumbles at the mess of clothes and books littered about the room that’s yet to be packed. Max looks around and rubs her head in bewilderment.

"Wowzers. I didn't realize how much crap I had to pack until I had to pack all my crap.”

"Do you have to do all this today?”

"My mom and dad are getting a little too excited I'm clearing out my room, so I’d rather get it done before they plan the party.”

"Harsh. I bet they’ll start bawling when we’re gone. Especially ‘cause of me. I always was the favorite.” Chloe strikes a regal pose, the single blue streak in her short, strawberry blonde hair shining in the afternoon sun streaming in through the window. “Oh, how will Vanessa and Ryan go on? They’ll be in absolute tatters.” Max giggles into a shirt she’s just folded while Chloe waves her arms around and sobs dramatically.

"Ugh, let’s take a break,” Max soon says, stretching. “Wanna go get coffee?”

"It’s almost five.”

"So, you don’t?”

"No, I do.” Chloe drops the books she’d been organizing. She stops to lean her hip against the desk and crosses her arms. "Hey, listen--"

"No."

"Max--

"Oh, Chloe, don’t start this again--”

"Just listen, Arcadia Bay hasn’t changed at all. It’s literally the same as when you left it.”

"Uh, yeah, I know, I’ve only been visiting twice a year for the past five years.” Max rolls her eyes.

"I’m just saying you have better options.” Chloe’s voice turns serious and Max turns to face her fully. “Out of all the best photography programs in the world, you choose to go to the smallest, back in a town you were excited about leaving. You could go someplace better, you’ve got the talent to get in anywhere.”

Max’s shoulders droop and she stares down at her moderately packed suitcase. “You’re probably right. Not about the talent part, but about the better options. Still, though,” she looks at Chloe again, voice firm. “I want to go to Blackwell. I’m not changing my mind.”

"Please don’t tell me you’re doing this for me,” Chloe says quietly, looking dejected. “Because there’s no way in hell I’m gonna hold you back if you wanna--”

"Chloe! Chloe, no, _god_.” Max lets out a laugh and walks until she stands right in front of her. “I’m not going to Blackwell for you. Even if you do sweeten the deal a little.” Chloe frowns and Max takes her face in her hands. “I’m going to Blackwell for _me_. Okay? Because I want to.”

"Why?”

'I dunno. I guess I just...” Max thinks on it. “I've got a good feeling about it. Thinking about all the super cool chances for my photography to get exposed there makes me scared, but excited. I get tingles down my arms, sensing the universe opening up for me.”

Chloe snorts. “Damn, did you write that yourself? Calm down, Robert Frost.”

Max squeezes her face, making it scrunch up. “Shut up. I mean it. I wanna go to Blackwell.”

Chloe gives her a long look through her squeezed cheeks and finally nods. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Max grins and plants a quick kiss to her protruding lips before stepping close enough to wrap her arms around her waist and snuggle into her neck. Chloe hugs her back, arms going around her shoulders and holding her close with a deep sigh. Max relaxes into the hug, eyes sliding shut and smile soft on her face as she breathes, ”I can't wait to leave.”

Just outside the window is an old tree with a few birds nests and assorted squirrels scurrying up and down the trunk. Sitting on the branch closest to the house, facing the hugging girls and looking pleased in a strange way, is a single blue butterfly. Its vibrant wings start flapping before it soars into the air and vanishes completely, gone forever.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Bittersweet ending because I can't just leave things be. This was so satisfying to write. I don't think I'll ever get over the enormous waste of time that was this whole game, but I can at least ignore it and write something better. Thanks for reading!


End file.
